Little Villagers Pre-School

Woodland learning gives Little Villagers Pre-School its character: children have a purpose-built base, an outdoor classroom behind it and access to the grounds of Woodcote House School in Windlesham. Forest School adds exploration of nature and supported risk-taking to the day. This is an outdoor offer with substance.

Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding at its 22 February 2022 inspection, with individual learning, communication and relationships with parents among its strengths. That judgement is dated; the present offer includes personalised play plans, a key person for each child and woodland sessions. Little Villagers provides early-years care for children aged two to five and has capacity for 39 children in total.

Morning and afternoon sessions follow a term-time calendar, with holiday camps on specified dates.

Rooms and Ages

The purpose-built building has two age-separated classrooms. Behind it, an outdoor classroom in woodland surroundings leads to an enclosed playground.

Tadpoles' teaching considers schemas, repeated actions during play. Frogs are the older children preparing to start school after their fourth birthday; they take an annual summer-term trip beyond the grounds.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and care: children develop through play, with language, relationships and physical skills forming foundations for later learning. Little Villagers translates that into individual play plans and activities shaped by children's interests. A key person observes each child at the start of a term, then uses the observation to plan the next steps. Interaction with the child takes priority over recording.

Weekly Enhanced planning shares activities and their learning intentions by email and through the Parent Portal. Home Play/Learning supplies family resources, while individual termly suggestions connect home activities with each child's next steps.

In February 2022, children compared scoops of water across repeated tasks and connected oval shapes with a rugby ball. Staff extended colour-mixing experiments in response to children's curiosity, encouraging them to test ideas.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School is the clearest addition to the everyday framework. Sessions use enclosed woodland, with a leader supporting children to explore their surroundings and learn how to manage risk. Waterproof overalls are supplied. In its announcement about Woodcote House School's September 2025 pre-prep opening, Little Villagers described twice-weekly Forest School in the grounds and weekly dance sessions in the hall.

Log seats form the woodland base camp. Children climb trees with supervision, build shelters and make marks with sticks, then extend their discoveries indoors through leaf mark-making and comparing and weighing conkers.

Our Golden Rules displays classroom expectations for daily discussion, making listening, turn-taking and kindness concrete for children.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins before the first regular session. The All About Me pack gathers a child's interests, family information and preferences, while the Welcome to Little Villagers booklet uses pictures of people, spaces and resources to make the setting familiar. A parent accompanies the child for a familiarisation session a term before entry. Each child then has a key person to support settling and build a relationship with the family.

Written communication continues beyond those early days. A settling report goes home after the first half term, development records are updated termly and parents can request to see the child's folder. A summer-term report covers the areas of learning. Parents' evenings provide another opportunity to discuss progress, alongside the weekly planning and individual home-learning suggestions.

At its February 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, settling arrangements highly responsive to individual children and targeted support for speech and language delays effective in helping children progress. Those findings belong to that visit. The current support arrangements are specific: a SENCO works with the key person and family, and individual plans connect a child's abilities and interests with adapted resources and activities.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

With parental consent, the SENCO can seek advice from speech and language therapists, inclusion officers and other professionals. Surrey Support Plans are incorporated into weekly planning, so an agreed target can be addressed through an activity that interests the child. Parents participate in reviewing plans rather than receiving them only after decisions have been made.

Wheelchair access and a disabled toilet cubicle are physical provisions. Visual cues and a classroom timetable support children with language delays; support for English as an additional language also involves the key person, SENCO and EAL Co-ordinator. Medical or disability-related personal-care needs can be recorded in an individual profile or health care plan. These mechanisms give families concrete arrangements to discuss in relation to their child.

Transition reports and contact with receiving teachers carry each child's learning information into school. Individual support information is shared with consent, and a SEND Support Arrangement prompts a transition meeting.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Little Villagers Pre-School, C/O Woodcote House School, Snows Ride, Windlesham, Surrey GU20 6PF. Enquiries go to the office by telephone or email.

The 2025/26 schedule offered mornings from 9am to 12.15pm, afternoons from 12.45pm to 4pm and supervised lunch from 12.15pm to 12.45pm. Early Drop ran from 8.30am to 9am, with additional services from 7.45am to 8.30am and 4pm to 4.45pm.

The 2026/27 calendar sets out term breaks and inset days. Holiday camps are separate dated provision: the October 2026 camp runs from 19 to 23 October, 9am to 3pm, while the December camp runs from 14 to 18 December, 9am to 1pm. They offer specified holiday coverage rather than an uninterrupted year-round pre-school calendar.

Funding and Paid Extras

Little Villagers accepts FEET Funding for eligible two-year-olds, 15 hours Universal Funding and 30 Hours Funding for three- and four-year-olds, subject to Local Authority requirements. Private sessions are also offered. The main attendance calendar is term-time, and the funding schedule describes entitlement in weekly sessions. Families obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation; the admissions and fees page sets out the joining terms.

In the 2025/26 charge structure, snacks were included in private session fees, while hot lunch and lunch supervision were charged separately; the paid afternoon extension included a two-course high tea. For funded hours, snacks, nappies and sun cream formed part of voluntary additional services, alongside Forest School classes, Spanish lessons and dance and acro classes, with a separate annual charge listed for Forest School resources.

Registration requires a non-refundable charge. A deposit is requested a term before entry and is returned at the end of the child's final term, with no refund in other circumstances. Fees are due by the end of the first week of term unless another arrangement has been agreed; leaving requires a term's notice or a full term's fees in lieu. These terms make the commitment longer than an individual booked session.

Little Villagers describes a close working relationship with Woodcote House School, including use of its hall and grounds. Attendance at the pre-school does not guarantee a Reception place at Woodcote. Families considering that next step use the school's own admissions process.

• The shape of the week. Morning and afternoon sessions sit within a term-time calendar, with camps on specified holiday dates. The detailed session schedule is for 2025/26: use a visit to discuss the current combination of sessions, lunch and extensions that would fit your week.
• Outdoor learning and individual needs. Forest School uses woodland and includes supported physical exploration. During a visit, discuss how your child's mobility, communication or personal-care needs would be supported there, using the SENCO's planning arrangements as the starting point.
• The financial commitment. A registration charge, conditional deposit refund and term's notice sit alongside session charges. Request a written quotation separating funded hours, private attendance, food, consumables and voluntary activities so the full arrangement is clear before joining.

Little Villagers suits families seeking morning or afternoon pre-school attendance, with individual learning plans and substantial woodland experiences. Its key-person arrangements, tailored home-learning ideas and practical SEND planning give the offer detail beyond Forest School alone.

The Outstanding judgement provides a strong February 2022 assessment, while today's decision rests on how the term calendar, chosen sessions and written charge structure fit the family. For parents who value outdoor exploration alongside close attention to a child's next steps, this is a persuasive option. The nearby school relationship brings shared spaces and transition contact, but school admission remains a separate decision.